(Public Agenda) -- For five continuous nights, a suburb of New Boye Town, a suburb of Accra, slept in darkness. The whole of the nation’s capital, Accra, generally was experiencing load-shedding. But darkness for five continuous nights was taking the load-shedding a bit far. Patience was already in short supply when news came through that the residence of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikoi South, Darko Mensah, who lives in the neighbourhood was lighted.
What they did not know was that the light emanating from the flat of the Honourable member did not come from the national grid. It was not from a generator either. It was from an improvised gas cylinder. But who had time to do a proper verification when patience was in very short supply?
Some youth members of the area decided to confront their representative in the Legislature to explain why he was being given a preferential treatment while the rest of them slept in darkness. That is where the trouble began. A delegation of the youth that approached the Member’s household went banging the door violently, singing war songs and yelling.
The Member was out on a conference, the Public Agenda learnt, at Akosombo. His wife, Elizabeth Afriyie sensing danger sneaked out to the Tesano Police Station and asked for protection. When the Police arrived, at about 7:30 am on Saturday morning, the youth had massed up on the main road for a demonstration.
They had blocked all routes to the suburb. Initially, it was all calm as the police tried to reason with them to remove the blockade. From nowhere, some one hurled a stone at the police while another lighted used lorry tyres that had been gathered on the road. The police responded by throwing about six tear-gas canisters and rubber bullets. Hell broke loose as people ran helter-skelter.
At a place called High Tension Junction, the tension was more intense. Police bulldozed through the area with their reinforced well-fortified riot control vehicles, J.H. Cobinah and Nana Agyeman Badu. Rubber pellets were fired and the booming sounds of tear gas sent both the rioters and innocent by-standers running for cover. A number of people were allegedly manhandled.
Kofi Taky, 31, a native of Saltpond in the Central Region had a rubber bullet wound in the left arm. Telling his own story Takyi told this paper thus: “I was just crossing when the police shot at me.” Showing off his wound he said, “I think it is from rubber bullet…I don’t know why they (Police) should come and brutalise the whole community the way they did.”
Kwame Ofori, 17, an electrician apprentice was injured in the right back shoulder apparently from rubber bullets. A 15-year old pupil of Sunny Side Junior Secondary School, whose name was given simply as Salem, was also allegedly injured in the head. Someone having a bicycle ride was allegedly beaten and taken away.
Felix Arthur, a welder was injured at the back of his shoulder. His mechanic shop bore the brunt of the police raid. A taxi at the workshop had its back windscreen smashed by a pellet from a gunshot.
A number of arrests were said to have been effected. At the Tesano Police Station, where those arrested were taken, activities at the charge office was very brisk. A number of people had massed up apparently to look for their relatives and to arrange bail. One schoolboy, who had been sent to fetch water had a souvenir item in his pocket. It was a tear-gas canister. Trust the young chap to display the canister at the playgrounds at school on Monday.
The Police came in for verbal thrashing. Felix Arthur, 20, whose workshop bore the brunt of the attack said the Police appear not to have learnt any lesson from the Accra Sports Stadium Disaster of May 9, last year in which 126 soccer fans lost their lives.
Another victim, who would not give his name reported: “The tax payer’s money is being wasted by the police on a very flimsy excuse of dealing with riot that never took place.” Ebenezer Sewoekpor, 25, manager of Lawspo Computer and Business Services was a very angry young man. “How can they keep us in the dark and give the MP power. Is he more important than his constituents? Someone owes us an explanation. We cannot tolerate this kind of discrimination anymore.”
Another young man, identified only as Adams, had a much cooler head. “Power failure is not only peculiar to Nii Boye Town. We should be careful not to be seen carrying out the wishes of shadowy characters in the background implying possible political connotation to the action by the youth.
At the residence of the MP for Okoikoi North, his wife, Elizabeth Darko Mensah, said the household had experienced the power outage just as the whole neighbourhood. “We only converted our gas cylinder to give us only a little bit of light, which could not even illuminate the household.” Instead of people finding out before acting, they assumed that their MP had light in his house.
It is a serious problem representing the people these days. I don’t know what they think but they seem to imply that the MP should not lead a normal life. We do not have electricity just as everybody else.”
She said the husband had been away when they came banging in the night. Naturally, I was a bit apprehensive. A few days ago, thieves broke in and stole the windscreen of my husband’s car. I cannot let in people chanting war songs like that when the man is not in the house. That’s why I called the police.”
When Public Agenda inquired from the Charge Office of the Tesano Police Station about the motive for the police raid, the possible number of arrests and the injured, this paper was directed to see the divisional Commander Supt. Charles Tokor. Unfortunately, the Commander was out and no one was prepared to volunteer information. The good news is that at exactly 12:30 pm on Saturday, while the Agenda was on the scene, the lights at Nii Boye Town was switched on.
